HOW TO DEAL Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and remove all cards except the following (listed high to low in rank, with corresponding point values), leaving twenty-four cards total:This is an excellent three-player game that few people know how to play—not counting the Russian, Polish, and Lithuanian immigrants who brought the game to western Europe and the United States in the early twentieth century. It’s likely that 1,000 is a simplified version of the German game Skat, but we’ll pass no judgment on this heated historical argument. It’s part of the “marriage” family of games, and offers plenty of action and competitive thrills.
HOW TO DEAL Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and remove all cards except the following (listed high to low in rank, with corresponding point values), leaving twenty-four cards total:
| CARD | POINTS |
| Ace | 11 |
| 10 | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Jack | 2 |
| 9 | 0 |
Deal seven cards to each player, and leave the three remaining cards face down on the table. This is the kitty.
SCORING The first player to score 1,000 points wins. You earn points by capturing tricks that contain point cards, and by successfully declaring the following combinations (both cards must be in your hand when declaring):
K of hearts-Q of hearts for 100 points
K of diamonds-Q of diamonds for 80 points
K of clubs-Q of clubs for 60 points
K of spades-Q of spades for 40 points
At the end of each round, if the declarer’s points total meets or exceeds his bid, the bid is added to the round score (e.g., if declarer bids 125 points and ends the round with 125 or more points, he scores his round points + 125). If the declarer does not meet the bid, the bid is deducted from his round score.
All other players score whatever points they won in the round, rounded to the nearest increment of five (e.g., if a player scores 51 points in the round, her final round score is 50; if she scores 53 points, her final score is 55).
HOW TO PLAY The game starts with a round of bidding. The player to the left of the dealer opens at 100 points and, moving clockwise, all players continue bidding in increments of five points (105, 110, 115, etc). Players are bidding on how many total points they think they will score in the round.
There are 120 point cards in each round, so bids above 120 can only be achieved by scoring at least one combination in the round. In fact, players may not bid more than 120 unless they are holding at least one combination in their hand. Players may pass, but they may not re-enter the bidding later. Once two players in a row pass, the player with the highest bid becomes the declarer. The declarer turns up the kitty for all players to see and puts these cards into his hand. Now the declarer may—but is not required to—increase his bid, in increments of 5 points.
The declarer leads the first trick with any card; all other players must follow in suit (if they can). Otherwise, they play any card. The highest card in the leading suit wins the trick.
A unique feature of 1,000 is the ability to introduce a trump suit midgame. This happens when a player declares a king-queen combination, then leads one of the cards of said combination. The suit of the combination immediately becomes and remains trump until another king-queen combination is declared.
In the trick-taking rounds, once a trump suit is declared, any player who cannot follow the leading suit must play a trump. Tricks are won by the highest card in the leading suit, or by the highest trump card. If a player cannot follow suit and cannot play a trump, only then may they play a card from another suit. The round continues until all cards are played. The deal then moves clockwise.
Connoisseurs of 1,000 generally play the cutthroat version, which is exactly like the basic game but introduces three variants to the way the game is scored.
First up is the barrel. A player (or players) is “on the barrel” any time her cumulative score falls between 880 and 1,000 points. When this happens, her score is immediately reduced to 880 points. To get off the barrel in a subsequent round, the player must be the declarer and either score more than 120 points (thereby winning the game) or fail to meet her bid (thereby having points deducted, likely falling below 880 total points, and as a result falling off the barrel). If you’re on the barrel and are not the declarer, any points you score in a round do not count. You may be on the barrel for no more than three rounds; after the third round, deduct 120 points from your score (thereby falling off the barrel).
Next up is the zero play. If a non-bidder fails to earn any points from tricks in three (not necessarily consecutive) rounds, 120 points is deducted from his score on the third instance.
Finally, the forfeit play. Before any cards are played (but after the kitty is reviewed), the declarer may forfeit the game. Each opposing player earns 60 points for a forfeit. You may forfeit as often as you like, but 120 points are deducted from your score on a third (and each subsequent third) forfeit.